cobradav

I think it will be a fun car, and for those already inclinned to go STEP, they have one heck of a new tranny to play with. The whole compo sounds like fun.

*** Extracted from E90Post courtesy of E90Fleet *******

Looks light lightning fast changes:

High-performance electric control for a fast response.
The new version of BMW six-speed automatic transmission allows a truly unique, active and sporting style of motoring. The sophisticated electronic control unit permanently monitors the position of the gas pedal, registering the intensity of the pressure exerted by the driver on the gas pedal and determining whether and to what extent the driver wishes to accelerate.
Retrieving data on the road speed of the car, engine speed and the steering angle, the control unit also detects current driving conditions at all
times, considering furthermore whether the car is driving uphill or downhill.
By taking all these criteria and many others into account, electronic
transmission management, together with its high-performance software,
is able to determine which gear is the most suitable under current driving
conditions to meet the driver?s particular demands.


The driver expresses these demands smoothly, easily and clearly through his foot on the accelerator, the transmission control unit automatically choosing the topmost gear as long as the driver is just cruising along with consistent pressure on the gas pedal. In this case the automatic transmission will never forget to shift up, keeping the car in its most economical gear at all times. But at the same time the automatic transmission is always ready for any change in driving conditions, responding instantaneously and precisely to new demands and requirements, regardless of whether the driver wishes to slowly build up extra speed or whether he obviously wishes to accelerate fast and dynamically.


Direct choice of the optimum gear.
Whether the transmission should shift back and, if so, to what degree, is
determined by the electronic control unit applying data provided on load and driving conditions as well as the rate at which the driver presses down the
gas pedal. So depending on the overall scenario, the transmission is able to shift down in the same brief instant either ?just? one or several gears.
All that counts is how fast the driver wishes to accelerate. The harder he presses down the gas pedal, the more dynamically his car will accelerate
to the desired speed, choosing the gear required directly and without
any transitional phase.
This direct gear finding process, as it is called, gives the automatic transmission its unique precision, without any time-consuming search for the right gear, which the driver would always notice and experience as an unwanted
delay. Indeed, the transmission will determine and find the optimum gear ratio instantaneously while the driver is still pressing down the gas pedal,
making machine even faster than man.

A mere 100 milliseconds response time.
Responding at such unprecedented speed, BMW?s new six-speed automatic transmission sets new standards, the dynamic gearshift leaving behind
not only conventional automatic transmissions, but even the manual gearbox: The new six-speed automatic transmission completes every gearshift process faster than even the vast majority of sporting drivers experienced in shifting gears manually. This is borne out particularly clearly by the extreme demand made by BMW?s development engineers in defining a kick-down signal at a speed of 70 km/h or 50 mph in sixth gear. The requirement even in this case is to ensure maximum acceleration ? and precisely that is what the new six-speed automatic transmission provides, responding in just 100 milliseconds to the driver?s commands. At the same time the automatic transmission sends
a positive force pulse to the engine, which immediately increases its speed from approximately 1,400 to more than 5,000 rpm while the transmission itself shifts back from sixth to second gear.


The time required for shifting gears is also shortened 50 per cent compared with a conventional transmission, again enabling the car to instantaneously switch over from a smooth cruising mode to fast and dynamic acceleration in less than a second, offering truly impressive shift-down performance
quite impossible with any kind of conventional automatic transmission.


The new six-speed automatic transmission therefore responds more quickly than the driver is even able to notice ? all he feels is the spontaneous reaction to his commands and wish for dynamic acceleration. And all that remains
is a wonderful feeling of satisfaction, with the driver marvelling at the intuitive reaction of the new six-speed automatic transmission to his wish for dynamic performance

needforspeed

Not sure I agree with you about the different buyers - Frankly I'd be interested in both cars if it were not for the petrol costs in the UK - which turn me off the V8

swajames

I'm interested in a Gallardo as well but it doesn't mean I'm going to get one I think my point is that just they *are* in different classes (70K sedan vs 40+K coupe) and not really targeting the same dollars. Have we seen a firm price yet for the 335 by the way? Anyone know?

BetterMakeWay

nice info cobradav
Makes me think what's the point of a SMG then, when the auto tranny got so updated...but i still find ALOT of strong points to the smg vs auto.

jlcool007

ahhhhhhh no not at all 307hp vs 333hp

and teh m3 revs to 8000 and the m3 has a 60ms shift time (flooring it of course)

and the m3 is tuned for performance, suspension wise, and plus...its an M

0700700

standing kilometer (0-1000m)

335i auto : 24.6
650i auto : 24.5

i think it will be quicker

youve quoted me already i see

0700700

absolutely no way

oh and the e63 amg revs higher

0700700

just FYI

bmw figures

shift times with auto
335i: 100ms
550i: 200ms

shift times with smg
550i: 150ms
m3 (mode 1through5) :150ms
m3 (mode 6) :75ms...
ferrari f430: 90ms (f1 type gearbox)

the 335i has the quickest auto box bmw has ever designed

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17989

UUronL

May be true, and I hope they improve on the Step. It has received some rather sharp criticism from car magazine reviewers in the US - mainly for baffling gear selection choices.

It occurs to me, that even my "slow" manual downshifting (it's really anything but slow) generally results in DSC engagement once the lower gear is engaged when driving aggressively. Let's assume that the flywheel and other driveline components will be even lighter on the 335i due to its sporting persona, meaning that wheelspin would be an even bigger "problem" on the new coupe. Of course wheelspin isn't a problem, but if DSC/DTC is going to jump in and slap you down, then what's the point of an aggressively fast shift? It becomes an enemy of speed if your engine cuts out or reduces speed.

Sure, you can switch off DSC/DTC, but it's often not convenient or possible to do so every time the urge strikes. All this marketing means to me is that the car can get into trouble with its electronic nanny faster.

I'm basically saying that it would be nice if the transmission's "uber smart" computer could tell the DSC/DTC computer that you wanted to go fast so that it could permit the wheelspin on gear changes and fast acceleration.